ok so pardon the indelicacy (is that a real word? if not, blame the gin) but i've been reading a lot about the dangers of alkaline playa dust....

and being something of a nudist, and intending to spend as much time naked on the playa as possible, it has occurred to me that said playa dust might have a somewhat irritating effect on somewhat more sensitive areas.

so my question is, has anyone who freeballs it experienced any "problems" or "issues" or "situations" with playa dust screwing up their nether regions?

It has a drying effect on healthy skin which is actually pleasant. It's ultrafine clay, alkaline salt and bacteria/seamonkies. Not so pleasant on hair IMO. But any open wound will be hell, and a potentially serious problem. Don't hesitate consulting medical if a skin issue comes up, it's free!

i had a campmate who had a problem with burning on her legs from all of the mix of playa dust/sunscreen and whatever else.. they could hardly walk.. went to the medical folks and they helped out.. dont feel ashamed to get help! thats why they are there

We usually bring a kit we call "playa foot salad" for our camp. It's a jug of cider vinegar, a jug of olive oil, a wash basin big enough for feet and a washcloth. I use it daily on hands and feet, but could apply to anywhere. If you're feeling any burning or stinging as a result of contact with the alkali-rich playa dust, soak the washcloth in vinegar and rub/wash/scub the affected area (the vinegar neutralizes the dust). Then follow that by rubbing or massaging in a little olive oil. It feels great, and helps even out the acidity of the vinegar. You'll smell like a salad for a few minutes, but your skin will be happy.

Doctor there said that a very common problem on-playa is sun-burnt peckers & nipples. I assume it's mainly an issue for 'nude fashion' novices, but be aware elevation/altitude is around 3,900 feet, so more UV getting through. Lots of UV, direct and scattered.

Clothing also for wind protection!

Video games are giving kids unrealistic expectations on how many swords they can carry..... but don't harm the red dragon that frequents the area from time to time. He and I have an agreement.

MyDearFriend wrote:I carry a tiny spray bottle of vinegar water and another of coconut oil, on my belt, and I tend my exposed delicate parts whenever I think of it: in the jots, intimate encounters etc. No issues.

Ready? Everything in this post is totally "TMI," or, Too much Information. All from a male perspective.

I went nude pretty much every day, and the worst part of the whole bit was definitely in-between the cracks, so to speak. Sitting on my bike seat, going for a ride, locking it up, wandering around, going back, riding around, doing that whole bit over and over and over again definitely gave me playa-ass. I kinda... well, i kinda wiped my ass with moisturizing lotion to fix it, but it kinda stayed rough. I tried some vinegar, but the smell coming from that... was pretty nifty, I must say. My lotion kept it all okayish, but it was still a bit dry-swampy down there! It made my late-week #2 sessions... interesting.

I'm also a european-style man in the front, if you catch my somewhat-generalized drift. I made sure to keep the armor up, and i still made sure to moisturize. One mistake I made that I will rectify for this upcoming year - if you're hairy, shave it. I kept ending up with splotches of dust that were kind of a pain to get out. Maybe someone else can chime in here - I feel like shaving it about a week out to get past the itchy phase and to end up with peach fuzz(?) might be a good option.

The dust seems to effect different people in different ways - some people can go barefoot and naked all week and not have much of an issue, some people get rashes and cracks all over. Re-iterating what others said - the medics are absurdly nice and helpful, almost to a point of it being a bit wacky. If you need help or have questions, go to them!

Other than that, sunscreen absolutely everywhere. The sun is wild out there - I made sure to apply twice daily. I didn't really get burned, I consider that my Mexican bonus for being darker skinned plus proactive about sunscreen, and beyond my dry-cracked-asscrack, I was pretty much fine. Always better safe than sorry, though!